HKS has some very tempting new tuning parts for key Japanese models that debuted at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon!

Firstly a great upgrade package for Honda S2000 owners – a GT Supercharger kit.

Called the AP350SC-II Concept, the HKS package is specifically designed to increase the power output of the Honda S2000′s incredible F20C engine. HKS’s engineers specified the use of GTS7040 blower that ideally compliments the high revving 2.0-litre VTEC motor.

The end result is a fantastically responsive, torquey and powerful Honda S2000 that delivers approximately 350PS (345bhp) and is thoroughly engineered to the standards you would expect from HKS.

Pre-orders are now being taken for the HKS AP350SC-II Concept Honda S2000 supercharger kit, so if you want supercar performance from your S2000, please contact us using sales@tdi-plc.com for more details!

With all the buzz surrounding a certain, high profile supercharged Honda CR-Z it’s worthwhile pointing out that our friends at HKS in Japan were the first tuning company to offer an on-sale supercharger upgrade for the hybrid Honda, with their 285 pS plus ‘Green Monster’ CR-Z car, from September 2010! So if you fancy a seriously quick supercharged Honda CR-Z, you’ve come to the right place.

This is no one-off, mega money concept, because these HKS Honda CR-Z supercharger kits are available NOW from Torque Developments in three stages, offering power increases from mild to wild:-

HKS Honda CR-Z GT Supercharger ‘Set up’ kit Circa 175 PS for £2183.50

HKS Honda CR-Z GT Supercharger ‘Set up’ kit Step 1 Circa 200 PS for £3283.50

HKS Honda CR-Z GT Supercharger ‘Set up’ kit Step 2 Circa 200 PS+  for £3789.50

Each kit comes complete with an HKS F-Con IS piggy back ECU. To see the HKS Honda CR-Z supercharger kits in action, please click on:- http://www.hkseurope.com/news/story.asp?NewsID=71

To buy this kit, please click on:- http://www.tdi-plc.com/catalog/supercharger-4015-p-18737.html

It’s always nice when other people appreciate the quality of Torque Development’s work – in writing.

“The performance uplift is dramatic.”

“It fills the CTR’s cammy VTEC void to bursting with low and mid-range torque.”

“The result is very impress any-gear, any-revs performance, and the 2.0-litre motor is still happy to rev to 8K and beyond.”

In this case it was Evo magazine’s Richard Meaden who supplied the platitudes as he recently tested a Torque Developments supercharged Honda Civic FN2 and was impressed by both the quality and performance of our upgrade, as published in Evo no:145.

Bookings are being taken now for the FN2 supercharger upgrade, which provides excellent performance at an affordable price. Please contact Torque Developments staff for more details.

Thurrock, United Kingdom, 18th May 2010

Honda’s superb Civic Type R FN2 has won plenty of fans for its sharp dynamics and high revving 197 bhp, 2.0-litre K20AZ3 I-VTEC engine, but as with any enthusiast’s hot hatch, there’s always a demand from owners for additional performance.

Which is why leading Japanese tuning house Torque Developments Plc is delighted to announce three levels of supercharger upgrades for the 2006 onwards Honda Civic Type R, designed to considerable elevate the FN2’s on road performance.

Torque Development’s new FN2 Civic Type R supercharger conversions are based on a well proven package produced in the USA by CT Engineering, which has required detailed revisions for right hand drive installation, plus the reworking of several major components to ensure optimum fit and performance.

 Torque Developments Stage One Civic Type R FN2 supercharger conversion

• Adds 75 bhp – totalling 273 bhp @ 8400 rpm
• Boosts peak torque to 190 lb.ft
• 90% of maximum torque available from just 3500 rpm

The TD Stage One FN2 supercharger conversion has been specified to function with the stock Honda air intake and exhaust system. Designed from the outset with quality, reliability and durability in mind, once Torque Development’s technicians have modified the Stage One kit, the installation of the FN2 supercharger package is a straightforward ‘bolt-on’ procedure, requiring no internal modifications to the Honda I-VTEC K20AZ3 engine.

Key features of the Torque Development’s CT Engineering Stage One supercharger kit include:- 

• ‘Roots style’ screw compressor supercharger designed to deliver boost from tickover to redline
• Integrated, purpose designed, sand cast supercharger inlet manifold
• Runs at a very safe low level of boost 4-5 psi
• Includes a Hondata ECU reflash to optimise ignition and fuelling settings
• High quality carbon fibre fuel rail cover included
• Linear supercharger boost increase with engine speed to ensure flexibility

Dyno testing has proven that the TD Stage One Honda Civic Type R FN2 supercharger kit adds a healthy 75 bhp and greatly increasing the mid-range torque that’s often cited as the weak point of the I-VTEC engine.

On the road this transforms the performance of the Civic Type R FN2 because peak torque leaps from 142 lb.ft as standard to 190 lb.ft. Crucially, for a fast road conversion, 90% of maximum torque is available from just 3500rpm, highlighting the flexibility and user-friendliness of the Torque Development’s upgrade. 

Faster and easier to drive, the TD Stage One supercharged Honda Civic Type R FN2 delivers a formidable, flexible, user-friendly punch, accompanied by a spine tingling, supercharger soundtrack.

Available for installation on a drive in-drive out basis at TD’s impressive and well equipped Lakeside / Thurrock premises, the Stage One Honda Civic Type R FN2 supercharger conversion is available now, priced at £4911.50 fitted including VAT @ 17.5%.

Interested parties should note that the TD Stage One supercharger conversion is covered with the peace of mind of an industry leading 12 month / 30,000 mile warranty.

Torque Development’s Stage Two Civic Type R FN2 supercharger conversion

• Adds 95 bhp, boosts peak torque to 205-210 lb.ft
• 90% of peak torque available from just 3500 rpm

But for owner’s wanting additional off the shelf supercharged Honda Civic Type R machines, TD offers a Stage Two upgrade. This builds upon the Stage One package, with the addition of a smaller supercharger pulley to increase boost pressure by a further 3 psi, larger fuel injectors and extra Hondata ECU remapping, which raises the rev limit to 8500 rpm. In addition, a choice of MUGEN, TODA Racing or HKS induction kit is advised to ensure optimised intake performance.

Performance testing has proven that this conversion produces an extra 95 bhp compared to the standard Civic Type R, with torque rising to over 200 lb.ft, which translates into an electrifying drive. Priced from £5955.75 fitted including VAT @ 17.5%, the Stage Two upgrade can also be retro fitted to Stage One converted cars if required, priced from £763.75 including VAT.

Torque Development’s Stage Three Civic Type R FN2 supercharger conversion

• Adds 105 bhp, boosts peak torque to 210-215 lb.ft
• 90% of peak torque available from just 3500 rpm

The stage three Torque Developments Civic Type R supercharger upgrade builds upon the components used in the Stage Two package, with the addition of an even smaller supercharger pulley to increase boost pressure by 4 psi compared to the Stage One kit, with further Hondata ECU remapping to suit.

The Torque Developments Stage Three Civic Type R FN2 supercharger kit has been validated to produce an extra 105 bhp and represents the ultimate in supercharged Type R conversions.

Priced from £5955.75 fitted including VAT @ 17.5%, the TD Stage Three upgrade can also be retro fitted to Stage Two converted cars if required, priced from £763.75 including VAT.

Torque Development’s Optional Extras for Honda Civic Type R FN2:-

Given the significant performance enhancement delivered by the conversion, TD’s goal has been to retain the cohesive nature of the driving experience. To that end, it recommends a number of cost optional upgrades designed to compliment a supercharged Honda Civic Type R FN2. These include:-

• Wavetrac limited slip differential
• Fast Road suspension geometry set up
• Performance lowering springs
• Adjustable ‘coilover’ suspension
• TODA Racing or MUGEN exhaust manifold
• TODA Racing or MUGEN sports exhaust system
• MUGEN high performance air box

Interested parties should contact Torque Developments for fitted prices.

This blog is a continuation of our Lexus iS200 Supercharger Stage 2 Upgrade blog which you can see at

http://tdi-plc.com/blog/category/japan/lexus-is200/is200-supercharged-stage-2/

We are mighty proud that our client chose us to deliver his dream of owning the worlds most powerful supercharged Lexus is200 using the original 1G-FE engine. There are more powerful cars around using a different engine or using a turbocharger, but this car really is something very special.

Although we have more experience with Lexus cars than any other company in the UK, when commissioned we knew that we were charting completely new and unexplored territory and so this project was going to be a challenge.

The engine and engine control functions had already been previously uprated as can be seen on the previous blog, so all we had to do was to adapt the Rotrex – Antonov supercharger to the Lexus iS200 and deal with any issues as they arise.

The Rotrex supercharger is a very efficient and compact centrifugal supercharger. The Antonov conversion introduces a 2 speed internal transmission to increase the boost pressure at low engine speeds.

Although Rotrex offer larger superchargers, Antonov had developed their technology only on Rotrex superchargers rated up to 400hp.

Our design brief was to get as close to 400hp with compromising the “Lexusness” of the car, which means that could not produce a car with too much intake or exhaust noise, and we had to retain the smoothness for which Lexus is renowned.

Here are some pictures of the Rotrex – Antonov supercharger installation:

Rotrex supercharger with the compressor housing removed.

Rotrex compressor housing

Rotrex – Antonov supercharger retention cradle manufactured by us.

Another part of the cradle.

Here’s the Rotrex – Antonov supercharger during mock up.

The Rotrex – Antonov supercharger runs on special traction fluid in it’s own remote reservoir.

Here are the mounting brackets after final treatment and installation:

Here’s the final completed installation:

Here’s a short video of supercharged engine with disconnected pressure pipes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5jHgLbVUbM

We were very pleased with the final outcome but went onto deal with some normal development and teething issues which are to be expected when breaching new frontiers by creating something that has never been done before.

The first thing we found was that because we had to retain the standard TTE air filter box to minimise the induction noise (which was totally unacceptable with an open induction kit), there was an enormous depression inside the air box (caused by it’s own restriction) which was trying to suck the K&N filter into the supercharger!

This issue was relatively easy to resolve by manufacturing a filter retention mechanism inside the air box.

The next issue became apparent at a Lexus Owners Club day meeting here at Torque Developments. After several hard runs loaded with passengers, the car developed a misfire at full throttle.

The cause of this issue was located after undertaking an exhaust back pressure test on our Rototest chassis dyno. We found that we had 2.5 bar (absolute) of back pressure in the exhaust system!!

This was then quickly tracked down to the catalytic converter which had melted and blocked the exhaust system. Although it was a hi flow racing cat, it was too small for this application, and the standard front pipes were still being used which were too restrictive and generating excessive heat.

Here’s the melted cat internals

This issue was resolved by installing a larger catalytic converter and hi flow down pipes.

The next issue that came to light during daily use of the car was a failure of the standard crankshaft pulley which sheared. Subsequent dyno testing showed that the parasitic losses of the supercharger were significantly higher than we were led to believe, so in hind site the failure of the standard pulley was to be expected.

This issue was resolved by manufacturing a new crankshaft pulley

This is the extent of our development of the Rotrex – Antonov supercharged Lexus iS200 to date.

There was some contention with some people in the UK Lexus Owners Club over our Clients requirement for discretion on the power figure. Of course we intend to honour our clients wishes on this matter but i don’t think he will mind if we reveal that it will produce close to the limitations of the supercharger when the restrictions that provide it’s “Lexusness” are removed.

All in all this is a fantastic car, and we would like to thank our client for choosing us help build it.